Press Release, 17.08.2022

Photo: Maria Volokh / Photo from social media

On 17 August, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow fined the unregistered candidate for municipal deputies Maria Volokh in the amount of 60,000 roubles under Articles 20.2 (“violation of the rules for holding public events”) and 20.3.3 (“discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”) of the Administrative Code for an action against censorship and repression. Earlier, the Territorial Electoral Commission of the Tverskoy district unanimously removed Volokh from the municipal elections, allegedly for the candidate’s residence permit in the Netherlands, without providing any evidence.

It should be noted that earlier administrative protocols for violations for “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” and “violating the rules for holding public events” were issued against civil activist Maria Volokh and Sergei Smirnov, a Yabloko candidate for the multi-mandate constituency No. 1 in the Tverskoy district. The two candidates marched through the centre of Moscow with their mouths sealed with a tape and holding a poster with eight asterisks.

According to the activists, the action was directed against the law prohibiting “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” and cannot be considered as discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, since the actions were directed against the law, and not against the army.

In addition, there is no objective evidence in the case file that the eight asterisks on the poster stood for a phrase referring to what is happening in Ukraine, as stated in the protocol.

Moreover, regardless of the interpretation of the asterisks, the poster had been censored, as it depicted asterisks, rather than the phrase.

In the end, it is not clear how exactly the implied phrase may discredit the Russian army, since it does not mention neither the military operation in Ukraine, nor the Russian Armed Forces.

The court brought in the verdicts of guilty without giving any grounds, imposing two fines totaling 60,000 roubles (over 1,000 Euro): 10,000 roubles under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and 50,000 roubles under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

On 18 August, the Tverskoy District Court will consider the same cases against Sergei Smirnov, a member of the Yabloko party and a candidate in the municipal elections in the Tverskoy district.

Yabloko continues raising funds to pay fines for the activists affected by censorship.

Read more (https://www.yabloko.ru/war-against-yabloko) about the persecution of Yabloko members after the start of the “special operation”.